AVENEL, New Jersey — On a busy stretch of Route 35 near Rahway, New Jersey, one of the nation's last Kmart stores looks like a relic from the past. Its big red K is faded and cracked. Inside this most American of retail stores, popular for K Cafe luncheonettes and Bluelight Specials, a sign promotes 60% off clothing. A dining-room table was on clearance for $89, while Route 66 jeans went for $10.99 and pink ladies' neck sweaters for $12.49.
But a spacious parking lot was mostly empty with a handful of bargain shoppers scurrying into the store over a couple of hours. Some came out empty-handed. A woman said her elderly mother walks the shopper-barren Kmart aisles for safe exercise. She was checking on her.
Another shopper, Grace Celauro, 69, said, "I came here out of boredom." She bought two winter coats for her grandchildren. "I don't know how they stay in business," she said, scanning the lot.
